A Place

Have you ever wondered how Joseph felt? What would it be like to hear that your fiance was suddenly pregnant and you had nothing to do with it? In fact, she pleaded with you to believe her innocence? What would he have thought when she claimed that an Angel had told her she carried the Messiah, that she was innocent of anything impure?  How would you handle it?

The turmoil Joseph experienced must have been excruciating.  From scripture, he seems like a very tenderhearted man. Wanting to spare Mary shame, he wanted to handle it all quietly. Then he got a visit. Face to face with an Angel, I cannot even grasp what that would have been like.

Joseph woke from his vision with new understanding and a choice. There was a place for him in this magnificent plan. He had a choice to make, would he take that place?  Josephs actions speak loudly.

He did as he was commanded.

Joseph refrained from intimate relations with Mary until the child was born. When the baby was born they named him Jesus just as the Angel had told him to.

How did he feel when he held this new baby?

What was spinning through his mind as the little hand grasped his finger?

He was supposed to be a Father to this baby, who in turn was to become his Redeemer?

This helpless babe was to become the Savior of the world.

I am sure Joseph was full of questions and doubt. Could he love this child as his own? How does one parent God? How is it possible that this baby would grow up to reconcile people to God? Was that Angel a figment of his imagination?

You may wonder the same things. It may be difficult to grasp that this could be true. It might be hard to imagine that Jesus is anything more that a story.

Scripture meets more of the Literary requirements than any other document, it is reliable. Eyewitness accounts were written, letters circulated while eyewitnesses were still alive. Over 500 eyewitnesses. Not one contradicted what was written about Jesus. I can't see that many people making up the same story and sticking to it if it wasn't real.

The Miracle of Christmas, the miracle of Christ is powerful. Powerful enough that a man, who by law should have separated from his seemingly unfaithful fiance kept his promise and married her. Joseph claimed Jesus as his own, loved him and raised him. 

That first night, as Joseph held that little baby, he didn't know what lay ahead. He wasn't given a detailed timeline or manual of how it was all going to unfold. He accepted it, lived it and took his place, the one prepared for him. If you have taken your place, I pray that this Christmas, the miracle reignites your passion for the Good News we have been entrusted with.

If you do not believe or are struggling to believe, are you ready to do some solid investigation? Do you need to take an action step like Joseph? Are you ready to take your place?

I Need Christmas!

There is nothing like driving during the Christmas season, in parking lots, while you have PMS to remind you that you need a Savior...

It is why I need Christmas.

There is nothing like the frustration of the shoes on the floor instead of the shoe rack, bags lying around rather than on their hooks hanging neatly out of the way, or clutter building up through the week.  Let's not even mention the state of the bathroom!!!

Sure, I can rationalize my frustration. "I have only been asking 5 days a week, for the last 20 years that the backpacks get hung on their hooks." Who wouldn't be frustrated?

Yeah, I have asked every day for the last 2 decades that shoes be put on the rack, who would blame me for losing my mind over this. Am I right!?! Maybe I have the right to snap at my kids rather than reminding them in love to do something they should know how to do.

While it might be understandable, it doesn't make it right. I may want to rationalize my temptation to have a tantrum, That immediate frustration is startling sometimes. It reminds me of my ugly sinful nature, I am constantly in battle with.

When I lose it, I could minimize it and say "you win some, you lose some."

Somehow, that just doesn't sit right.

If I am really wanting to grow spiritually and reflect Christ in my life.  That kind of approach will only hold me back.  It tries to make what is wrong seem less wrong. I don't see God ever do that in scripture.  That should tell me there is something wrong with that approach.

I need Christmas. The season is an opportunity to reflect on the lengths to which God went to save me.

I need to be saved from myself, I want to be freed from my sinful nature. I cannot achieve victory over it on my own.

I need Christmas.

The season reminds me of all that Jesus gave up. He had a face to face relationship with God. Perfect union and harmony. Jesus released this, let go of all his powers, became fully human and submitted to the Father.Christmas to remind me of this.

In light of all that, I cannot rationalize my sin. It cost too much. Christmas keeps me from minimizing the sin that made all that he did necessary.

It started in the manger and leads to the cross.

I need Christmas because I need a Savior.